The invention herein pertains to insecticides, and particularly pertains to an insecticide and method of application for killing fire ants.
Arsenic and other metals have been used for many years in insecticides as have other chemicals which are hazardous and/or unfriendly to the environment. Governments and other agencies in recent years, have encouraged the use of less toxic or environmentally friendly insecticides and d-limonene has been touted as meeting this criteria. D-limonene thus has been used as the active ingredient in various insecticide mixtures for killing ants and the like at about a 5% concentration. However, as such the kill rate is only approximately 70% after twenty-four hours. Surviving fire ants and other similar insects will flee the treated mounds and areas and, in a matter of a few days, begin rebuilding their colony at a new location. Thus, as one hill is eradicated the 30% or so ants which are not fatally affected will migrate to another location, requiring yet further insecticide applications as the cycle repeats and the problems persist.
Thus, with the difficulties and disadvantages of known insecticides, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide an insecticide which is both environmentally friendly and which has an extremely high kill rate.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide an insecticide mixture which utilizes d-limonene and diacetone alcohol in an effective synergistic ratio.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide an insecticide which is both safe to handle and easy to apply.
It is also another objective of the present invention to provide an effective met hod for killing f ire ants using a portable sprayer having two spray wands for simultaneous spraying to thus prevent multiple (subsequent) insecticide applications.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description is set forth below.
The aforesaid and other objectives are realized by providing an insecticide mixture in the form of an emulsion concentrate which can be diluted for spraying from a modified portable manual garden sprayer having two wands. The concentrated emulsion mixture is prepared by combining by weight:
50 parts of d-limonene;
25 parts of diacetone alcohol;
15 parts of polyglycol ether; and
10 part of methyl soyate.
In a suitable container this mixture is stirred sufficiently to form an emulsion concentrate which can be stored for dilution for later use.
When needed, 10 parts by weight of the emulsion concentrate is placed into a modified, hand pressurized garden sprayer having two hoses and wands. Ninety (90) parts by weight of water are then added and mixed by agitation. The diluted emulsion can then be sprayed for an effective insecticide through the wands simultaneously onto an ant hill or the like.
The method of applying the insecticide mixture described above from the garden sprayer includes the following steps: one wand is used to first penetrate an insect mound such as an ant hill and the insecticide mixture is then dispensed along the bottom thereof. Simultaneously therewith, the second wand sprays the outer surface of the ant hill with the mixture to saturate the same.
It has been found that after two hours all visible signs of life are absent and the ant hill remains inactive at subsequent checks, some twenty-four hours later, verifying the estimated 100% kill rate.